India’s trade deficit with China nears record $30 b

As per the data released by the China’s General Administration of Customs, India’s trade deficit with China after 11 months of this year has reached a record $29.5 billion, exceeding 2012’s annual figure. Towards the end of 2013, India’s exports to China reached only $14.87 billion out of total bilateral trade of $59.24 billion.

The numbers underline the sharp decline in once-burgeoning trade, which reached $74 billion in 2011 when China became India’s biggest trading partner.

In 2012, India’s the trade deficit with China registered a 10% decline to reach 66.50 billion dollar, even as both the countries announced an ambitious 100 billion trade target to be achieved by 2015. The decline was partly the result of 20% slump in India’s exports, largely on account of iron ore mining bans by China and partly on account of global slowdown.

What is Trade deficit?

An economic measure of a negative balance of trade in which a country’s imports exceeds its exports. A trade deficit represents an outflow of domestic currency to foreign markets.